Georg is owner of HiDef and BioConsult SH’s Managing Director, bringing over 30 years of marine environmental research expertise to the team. He obtained his PhD studying eider ducks and mussel populations. In 1998, Georg founded BioConsult SH and since then the company has grown to become one of the leading providers of marine environmental… Continue Reading
Florian is acting as Head of the Marine Renewable Energy Department at Biotope since 2020 and as Non-executive Director at HiDef Aerial Surveying since 2022. As an environmental consultant, Florian has worked other the last 15 years on several fields of expertise : nature reserve and Natura 2000 sites conservation plans, renewable energy (onshore and… Continue Reading
Dr Kelly Macleod joined HiDef in May 2021 and is a marine mammal scientist with more than 20 years’ experience. Kelly provides scientific oversight to all our projects and has direct responsibility for the delivery of technical reports, ensuring analytical approaches are appropriate and quality standards and deadlines are met. Kelly’s previous roles, at JNCC… Continue Reading
Gary joined HiDef in January 2023 as a Project Manager and has been working with the projects team on management of aerial surveys. He will also be working closely with the Operations and Consultancy teams. He comes from a predominately finance based background, working on large scale regulatory projects as well as having project experience… Continue Reading
David is responsible for the planning and oversight of a variety of projects. Ensuring all parties are kept up to date and aware of the requirements needed from them. He works closely with the operations team to observe that deliverables are met on time and to scope, whilst administering change controls that effect’s the project… Continue Reading
Emma joined the projects team at HiDef in September 2025 and has been responsible for supporting a variety of different projects, particularly digital aerial surveys. Since graduating from the University of St Andrews in 2020, she has worked predominately in commercial facilities management sector, providing support for large-scale real estate and technology transformation projects. Continue Reading
Laura joined HiDef in August 2024 to lead Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Habitats Regulations Appraisals (HRAs) for marine mammals, underwater noise, and seabirds. She has a strong background in marine mammal ecology and risk mitigation, as well as survey design, data analysis, and reporting for the offshore wind sector. Prior to joining HiDef, Laura… Continue Reading
With over 10 years in ecology, Ruth leads on pursuing and developing opportunities to deploy innovative technology for the purposes of ecological monitoring and research (both marine and terrestrial). Her focus is on collaborative solutions; exploring partnerships with external technology providers and international research and development programmes (particularly automated and unmanned data collection methods e.g.… Continue Reading
Laura joined HiDef in September 2022 as an Ecological Consultant after completing her MSc in Marine Mammal Science from the University of St Andrews. Prior to that, she completed a BSc in Marine Biology and Oceanography from Plymouth University providing her with a broad range of relevant knowledge. Her two most recent research projects focus… Continue Reading
Mairi joined HiDef in June 2021 as an Image Analyst before moving to the Projects team where she was responsible for the planning and management of the many projects carried out by HiDef. She has now joined the Consultancy Team as an Ecological Consultant. Mairi has a background in marine biology gained from her BSc… Continue Reading
Jack joined HiDef in 2023, having spent over 10 years working as a statistician in government. Since starting at HiDef, Jack has focused on embedding reproducible analytical pipelines within HiDef’s processes, along with refining flight height analysis. Jack is a Chartered Statistician, and previously worked as an in-house statistical consultant with a broad remit including… Continue Reading
Allison recently joined HiDef as Business Administrator in the Consultancy Team. Prior to joining HiDef, Allison was a National Account Manager in the Office Supplies Industry and latterly worked in Lettings and Property Management. Allison’s role within the team will ensure the company admin, project and financial matters run and are monitored smoothly. Continue Reading
Polly joined HiDef in January 2024 as an Ecological Consultant after completing her MRes in Biodiversity and Conservation from the University of Leeds. Before that, she gained a BSc in Zoology at the University of Glasgow, acquiring a wide range of relevant knowledge of both ornithology and marine science. Her Master’s research used foraging ranges… Continue Reading
Kathryn joined HiDef in June 2025 as a Data Scientist, bringing experience from both academia and industry as a statistician. She holds a PhD in Statistics and Operational Research from the STOR-i Centre for Doctoral Training at Lancaster University and her research work focused primarily on developing novel statistical methods for analysing networked data. During… Continue Reading
Alice joined the HiDef Science and Consultancy team in February 2024. She has an MSc in Marine Environmental Management, a BSc in Conservation Biology and brings with her a diverse skill set and over 10 years of experience working in science and ecology. Alice has a particular interest in marine mammal research and most recently… Continue Reading
Liam joined HiDef in October 2024 as an Ecological Consultant after reading his MSc in Environmental Monitoring, Modelling and Reconstruction at Northumbria University. Liam’s background is primarily finance, having worked in personal financial planning for seven years following his bachelor’s degree. However, he was inspired to change direction in his life and career after living… Continue Reading
Rebecca joined HiDef in 2025, having worked for 10 years as a researcher and field biologist in academia. Much of her past work has involved collecting, analysing, and summarizing complex ecological data for publication in peer-reviewed research journals. This has included work assessing how wild populations of Antarctic fur seals and St Kilda Soay sheep… Continue Reading
Jess Harvey is a Marine Ecology Consultant specialising in environmental impact assessment of marine mammals and seabirds in the offshore renewables industry. She has experience supporting and coordinating a range of primary and secondary consents in the marine environment, across the UK and Ireland. This has included working on the environmental impact assessments for the… Continue Reading
Catherine has a background in geography and spatial analysis, having completed an undergraduate degree in geography at the University of Glasgow in 2013. Catherine leads the operational services department including projects, flight operations, review and ID team from our Head Office in Cumbria. She oversees and project manage the flights and data, delegating resource to… Continue Reading
Jordan is the Acting Senior Operations Team Leader at HiDef, providing leadership across the Operations and Review teams to support the successful delivery of projects and services. He is responsible for operational performance, team development, stakeholder relationships, and the continuous improvement of processes across multiple departments. Since joining HiDef in 2021, Jordan has progressed through… Continue Reading
Shannon is one of our Operations Controllers, and a member of the Operations Department joining us in February 2022. She has a large variety of experience and knowledge in various previous roles, which has enabled her to thrive within the team. She is keen on customer relations, and hopes to build on communications both internal… Continue Reading
Since joining HiDef in 2019 as a Reviewer, Natalie quickly discovered a passion for leadership and organisational excellence. As the Review Department expanded, she stepped into a Team Leader role, playing a key part in supporting the team’s growth and development. In 2021, Natalie transitioned into the Operations Department, where she has continued to progress… Continue Reading
Claire joined HiDef as a reviewer in November 2021, and joined operations as a secondee in June 2023 where she was responsible for conducting stringent data checks of recent survey data; she was officially appointed as an operations controller in June 2024. Claire has a scientific background having graduated from the University of Northumbria with… Continue Reading
Sammy joined HiDef in November 2022. Prior to joining HiDef, Sammy accrued knowledge and skills in customer service and sales, which enables her to excel when communicating with aircraft providers and couriers. Outside of work, Sammy enjoys reading, going to concerts, and getting out in the lakes with her dogs. Continue Reading
Karen Armstrong joined the HiDef management team in May 2022 as HR Manager. Karen has over 15 years’ experience in HR roles in hospitality, the FMCG sector, leisure, and facilities management. As part of HiDef’s continued expansion Karen will work closely with the HR Officer to provide a dedicated HR function and support the existing… Continue Reading
Simon is an Approved JNCC ESAS (European Seabirds at Sea) trainer since April 2010 with over 1000 hours of marine mammal surveys for research projects offshore wind farms, tidal and wave arrays. Adding to his ‘old seadog’ tag, beginning in January 2004 he has completed over 8000 hours (over 1000 days) of European Seabird at… Continue Reading
Torcuil has acquired and developed a range of skills in a career spanning more than 16 years within the environmental consultancy sector. Specialising in ornithology he has also worked for the RSPB, and other NGOs, gaining considerable knowledge and experience undertaking a variety of nationally recognised ornithological surveys. He was Assistant Warden on Fair Isle… Continue Reading
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